


In Pace Decus, In Bello Praesidium

by ZeroSh0ck



Category: RWBY
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Original Character(s), Romance, School
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-21
Updated: 2014-10-24
Packaged: 2018-02-22 01:52:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2490140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZeroSh0ck/pseuds/ZeroSh0ck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All is not well in the kingdoms of Remnant. The Grimm seem to be growing stronger with each passing month, and humans are continuously being pushed back from the borders they had once strongly held. </p><p>In these dark times, the students at Beacon remain a shining hope for humanity's survival. But just because they are hunters and huntresses tasked with destroying the Grimm doesn't mean they can't have lives outside of their training. </p><p>"In Pace Decus, In Bello Praesidium"; In Peace a Glorious Asset, In War a Tower of Strength. A more apt phrase could not be found to describe the members of Team DRKN as they each struggle to overcome their own pasts and emerge as the hunters and huntresses they aspire to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> Credits to H-san, my editor without whom you would all have to suffer my terrible sense of grammar. 
> 
> This is my first fanfiction, so I hope you can enjoy it.

A ballroom lit brilliantly by crystal chandeliers. Men in tuxedos dancing with women wearing fine silk dresses and glittering pearls. A band playing a soft orchestral score in the background as people danced refinedly on the ballroom floor. Surrounded by the trappings of high society, Darien du Corteaux suppressed an exasperated sigh as his face maintained a facade of shallow enjoyment. _Damn, I could have sworn my parents promised not to do anything over the top! ‘A party for relatives?’ Half the bloody upper crust of Vale is here!_ Fuming silently, he grabbed a nearby glass of champagne and sipped it in a controlled manner, careful not to let his internal frustration leak out. He couldn’t really fault his parents for wanting to do this, though. After all, he had just been accepted to the prestigious Beacon Academy, one of the leading schools on the continent for training hunters and huntresses to fight the Grimm that continued to plague humans on the frontier. His parents looked overjoyed, though one could see the clouds hanging over them if one looked closely enough.

 

“Honestly, it’s not your fault I’m like this,” Darien muttered under his breath as he took another sip, careful to make sure he was taking a supplemental pill that allowed him to retain clear thought under the influence of alcohol. Glancing around the ballroom, he spotted his parents merrily chatting away with his grandparents, the esteemed former Count and Countess du Corteaux. At a hearty age of 65, grandfather Jebraham still laughed as raucously as he did during his time in the service thirty years prior, although grandmother generally reminded him of his station from time to time. Of course, they were all happy that he could make it into Beacon - especially after an experimental operation gone awry had taken away his ability to ever become athletically durable. Even till today, it was reflected in every action his father and mother took that they blamed themselves for him not being able to enjoy a normal life. And Darien took it upon himself to prove that he could still be who he wanted to be and that he appreciated what they had done for him despite how the operation had turned out.

 

Of course, those feelings of appreciation weren’t quite able to match his irritation at the moment. Even now, he was referred to as the young Count, under the control of his own sizeable plot of land located elsewhere in Vale. Being that he had a strong aversion to being recognized by his social station, a fancy ball like this which had most of the nobility in Vale in attendance put his nerves on end. _I can only take so much sycophancy._ Replacing his now empty champagne glass with another, Darien quietly slipped onto the balcony without anyone noticing and heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank the gods, I couldn’t take much of that any longer.”

 

“Who are you?”

 

Spinning around, Darien let slip a small look of alarm. _Damn it, I let my guard down a little!_

 

“My apologies, madam. I am Darien du Corteaux.” Darien bowed, only raising his head at the sound of giggling in the background.

 

“Hey, Kaede, this guy’s a real piece of work, isn’t he?” a voice said mischievously. Looking up, Darien was confronted by two girls wearing dresses of the same style, one colored a light forest green while the other was a pure white with accoutrements of sky blue.  

 

“Raena, that is the son of nobility you are referring to as ‘a piece of work.’” The girl named Kaede replied calmly, her white dress shimmering slightly in the moonlight. “It’s only common courtesy amongst those who are high born to bow in greeting.” In return the girl did a small curtsy, bowing her head towards Darien. “I am Kaede Engel. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

 

“Yeah, but the way he did it was just so stiff! I felt like I was looking at a robot or something,” said Raena, clearly enjoying poking fun at Darien’s expense. “It doesn’t feel natural at all!”

 

Despite himself, Darien could feel a small surge of anger at the insult. “And you, madam? I don’t believe I caught your name.” He said this almost robotically, detaching himself from his emotions so that he would not accidentally cause insult. After all, the daughters of his parents esteemed guests would consider any slight against them as paramount to insults towards their parents.

 

The girl only smirked, mockingly copying Kaede’s curtsy. “My name is Raena Argyros,” she said, moving her emerald green hair back so that Darien could see her face properly. “I’m not a part of you upper-crusters, so don’t mind me~”

 

“I see. Well, if you would excuse me.” Bowing his head slightly, Darien curtly turned to return to the ballroom when Kaede called out from behind him.

 

“Pardon me, but you are the grandson of the Count du Corteaux, are you not?” Kaede addressed him politely, though her eyes were icily devoid of emotion. Darien could almost feel his person being chilled to the bone, but he maintained eye contact before answering.

 

“Yes. This ball was mainly thrown in my honor, although I don’t really think the occasion calls for it.” Darien allowed himself to rub at his forehead in vexation.

 

“Ah, I take it you don’t enjoy this type of thing?” Kaede walked closer to him until they were standing face to face, her expression still carefully meticulous to betray nothing but politeness.

 

“No. To be honest, I wish I weren’t of the nobility at all. It only seems to make things more difficult for me when everyone avoids me because of my high station.”

 

At this Kaede’s expression warmed somewhat. “See, Raena? He isn’t the sort of character you took him for. At the very least, he’s not a ‘prick’ as you referred to him earlier.”

 

At this, Raena only gave a small harrumph. “He’s still a bit uptight, and he gives off this aura like he’s better than you, but I guess he’s not that bad.” Appraising him with new eyes, Raena made no attempt to hide the look of disappointment on her face. “Still, he doesn’t look like he’s cut out for Beacon. He’s a scrawny twig!”

 

 _Does this girl know no end to her rudeness?_ Darien wondered curiously to himself while swallowing down the sudden urge to return the insult in kind. “I take it you two are also attending Beacon?”

 

“Yes. Raena and I are to be incoming freshmen at Beacon this year, the same as you. It’s only by coincidence that I happened to meet you tonight, since my father was in Vale on some passing business.”

 

“Your father wouldn’t happen to be Roger Engel, would it?” Darien asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

 

“Ah, so I see you’re familiar with my father.”

 

“Less familiar with the man than with the company. His domination of the Dust economy in Mistral is comparable to that of the Schnee corporation here in Vale. It must be impressive seeing a man like him in action on a day to day basis.” Darien said respectfully. While not well known in Vale, the Engel Dust Conglomerate was known in Mistral as a highly-successful Dust operation that controlled its production from mining to refining and selling commercially. Environmentalists decried their methods of landstripping as detestable, but Darien admired Roger Engel for his innovative business strategy and soft arm tactics in regards to continuously improving and refining Dust minerals.

 

“Yes, indeed,” Kaede said happily enough, though her eyes betrayed a slight glint of sadness. “I’m glad that you hold my father in such high regard.”

 

While Darien pondered over why the daughter of Robert Engel should have such a sad expression while talking about her father, Raena rudely grabbed him by the shoulder. “Hey, you. Just where do you think you’re looking at, hmmm?”

 

“I - wha?” Disturbed from his thoughts, Darien suddenly realized that his gaze had been directed towards Kaede’s chest, which was rather sensuously outlined by the cut of her dress. At the implication, he began to blush violently and averted his gaze, opting to reaffix the position of his glasses instead. “What do you take me for, a pervert?” he said, unable to hide his embarrassment.

 

“Not like I can’t understand you, of course~” Raena replied in a sing-songy voice. “Kaede does have a rather nice body, after all. All the boys over at Sanctum were heads over heels for her in their final year.”

 

“Raena!” Kaede said, seemingly at a loss for words as she blushed slightly. “I- I!”

 

“Right, right. Sorry, Kaede, got a little carried away,” replied Raena while teasingly propping up her own chest. “After all, my breasts look like tiny mounds compared to yours. I’m jealous, really!”

 

Unable to hold back her mortification, Kaede quickly moved to stifle Raena before she said anything else only to miss and have Raena escape back into the ballroom. “Catch me if you can, Kaede!” she yelled back, her face the very picture of devilish amusement.

 

“My apologies, Darien.” Kaede sighed softly as she watched the retreating figure of her friend become lost in a crowd of respectable gentlemen. “Raena is a bit...wild.”

 

“Is that so? I thought she was a rather pleasant young lady,” Darien muttered, unable to keep his emotions in check from the absurdity of it all.

 

Kaede looked at him in amusement, though her eyes remained steadfast. “Perhaps we could meet again? I’d love to talk now, but if I leave Raena alone for more than a couple of minutes she might set fire to the ballroom.”

 

“Of course.” Thanking the powers that be that it was dark enough on the balcony to hide the rose tinge of his face, Darien held the door open as Kaede re-entered the ballroom. “Feel free to call on me at any time. I’m sure there is much we could discuss in regards to ours studies.”

 

“I’ll take you up on that,” she replied, smiling gently as she re-entered the ballroom. As soon as she left, Darien retook his place at the balcony rail and sighed.

 

“What… was that, exactly?” Darien muttered to himself, his face still somewhat hot with his blush. “I’m guess I’m not really good with handling women...right?” Staring at the star-filled twilight sky, Darien abandoned all decorum and tossed back the rest of his champagne down his throat before returning to the ballroom on his own. _It seems like it’s going to be an interesting school year. And now that I think about it, would that technically classify as a date? At the very least, it’s a future engagement that I must be careful to keep in mind._

 

Upon re-entering the ballroom, he was immediately gestured to by his parents. “Yes, father?” Darien asked with perfect poise, well aware of the attention he was receiving from the dignitaries in his father’s presence.

“Darien, my son, there is no need to stand on ceremony with me,” Jarvus du Corteaux replied warmly, a smile dominating his craggy face. “You are now a man in your own right,” he said as he gently thumped his son’s shoulders with both of his hands.

 

“I am a man now, yes, but you are still my father and the Count du Corteaux. That is enough cause for me to show my respect,” Darien said smoothly as he bowed, much to the pleasure of those around him.

 

“My, you certainly have raised a good man. The very model of a polite son, and able too to get into Beacon!” tittered a baroness, flapping her fan vigorously to ward off the ballroom’s stifling heat.

 

Darien smiled with as much charm as he could muster. “Hardly, my lady. My entrance to Beacon was only made possible through the efforts of my parents, for which I love them dearly. It is not only my achievement, but theirs as well.”

 

“Oh, and such humility! Count Jarvus, do send your son to our manse one of these days! I am sure the elder madame would enjoy such an outstanding youth for company!” At that, the baroness returned to the dance floor while Jarvus motioned for some privacy between himself and Darien. “Darien, my boy, are you alright?” Although his voice did not express it, Jarvus’ eyes were filled with worry. “I know that your condition is harsh, and I… I wouldn’t want to see you collapse.”

 

“I’m fine, father.” Darien stated in what he thought was an assuring tone. “There’s nothing to be done about it now. The paperwork is all filled out, afterall.”

 

“Yes, but we could always withdraw you, if you wished to?” his father asked in an uncharacteristically feebly voice, sounding very much like the defeated man who learned for the first time about Darien’s permanent disability.

 

“Now dear, I thought we agreed we would allow Darien to follow his own path,” chided Josephine du Corteaux as she took her husband’s arm.

 

“I know, I know…” Jarvus let loose a sigh before returning his gaze to his son. “It’s just that it’s still shocking. To think that you applied and were accepted without my knowledge…”

 

“Is it that surprising that I would want to follow in your footsteps, father?” Darien asked, his eyebrows raised in curiosity.

 

“No! But there are so many easier things that you could do. Things that your blasted lungs wouldn’t get in the way of. That can’t get you killed. Could you not be satisfied with being my heir?”

 

“Father, I respect you, but that comment is an insult to all the training I have done over the past ten years.” Darien replied coldly, though the expression on his face remained civil so as not to attract the attention of the guests around them. “I want to be my own man, father. To _make_ something of myself. I don’t want to be like the rest of the nobility that just inherit into their position and do nothing worthwhile. Just because my lungs are slightly disabled doesn’t mean that I can’t be a hunter.”

 

“Blast, Darien, I just-”

 

“Please, father, just stop.” Darien said, a hand raised as if to ward off what he knew his father was about to say. “I am not going to change my mind.”

 

Jarvus looked as if he were about to say something more, but changed his mind and donned an outward facade of joviality. “Very good then, son. I beg you, please do look after yourself.” Still holding his wife by the arm, Jarvus walked out onto the ballroom floor and started to waltz to the music, though there was no energy in his movements anymore.

 

As Darien looked on, he spotted Raena from the corner of his eye at the refreshment table stuffing her mouth with h'orderves while evading capture from an increasingly frustrated Kaede. _It appears that tomorrow will be a very interesting day, he thought to himself as he prepared to re-enter the ballroom floor himself to dance the night away. After all, I doubt life will be the same for me again after I finally enter that place, just as my father and grandfather before me._

 

Tomorrow would mark his first day at Beacon.

 

 

 


	2. Into the Emerald Forest

After his short flight through the air, Darien struggled to control his breathing. _That’s one excitement I hope I’ll never have to repeat._ Taking deep, shuddering breaths, Darien forced himself to pace his lungs until his breathing had equalized to a relatively stable rate. “‘Figure out how to land on your own,’ he says! Blood and bones, Professor Ozpin knows how to take us out on a spin.” Feeling that he was now completely calm, Darien silently dropped to the forest floor and assessed the environment around him. “Seems like there aren’t any Grimm in this part of the forest - _yet_.”

After assessing himself to be safe, Darien allowed some of the tension to drain from his shoulders, though he still kept himself wary of what could be around him. After all, with the way Ozpin had started this test, he couldn’t afford to be caught off-guard again. _But honestly, what living human being could predict that they’re going to be launched through the air, I ask you!_

It certainly alarmed Darien to no end when he discovered through first-hand experience that Ozpin literally meant to drop them into the Emerald Forest. After he had finally worked his mind around the concept, he found himself already flying through the air and quickly activated his Convertible Multi-Shot Archer Gauntlets’ grappling hooks to cinch himself into a nearby tree. What he did not take into account, however, was that his particular tree of choice would not be able to withstand the force of a body being flung 60 mph.

With a resounding crack, the branch that Darien had hooked onto broke off, causing him to be in freefall as the forest floor rushed up to meet him. It was only by a stroke of good luck that his fall was broken by other branches along the way, leaving him noticeably bruised but in one piece.

Rubbing his arms in an attempt to alleviate the pain that comes with something being almost wrenched out from his sockets, Darien almost failed to notice another presence that was casually approaching from behind him. _It’s not malicious… which means it’s not Grimm_. Being reminded of the professor’s words before launching his peers into the air, Darien quickly dove into a nearby bush and drew up his camouflage cloak around himself before becoming completely still.

The art of unseen movement, one of the skills that his father had taught to him personally, was a hard-won but undeniably invaluable tool for reconnaissance. By taking advantage of one’s surroundings and basic human nature,  a hunter skilled in unseen movement could literally move across almost any terrain undetected to the human eye. Aided by a camouflage cloak that broke up the hunter’s form, a hunter could realistically walk right under a Grimm’s nose and not be detected; when staying completely still, someone could be staring right at the hunter and not realize that the hunter is there since they don’t expect to see anything there.

This skill proved useful to Darien now, who had no desire to be partnered to someone else so arbitrarily. _At the very least, I’ll want someone competent enough to detect my presence even if they aren’t conscious of the fact that it’s my presence they’re detecting,_ he thought disdainfully to himself, recalling his other ‘esteemed’ peers of whom he currently thought very little. _Battle-maniacs and high-born pricks, the lot of them._

 

Which is ironic, considering that Darien himself came from the very same "high-born" pricks he despised.

Twigs snapped underfoot as the figure approached until it finally emerged from the foliage to reveal a tanned tall and muscular guy with a mop of tousled black hair. “Phew, this forest sure is hard to navigate,” the figure commented cheerily to himself as he picked leaves and random foliage off his white silk shirt. Closer observation revealed a double holster of black leather on the guy’s right side holding two conventional pistols, while an Estoc was sheathed to his left. Both appeared to have been heavily used, which brightened Darien’s evaluation of this potential partner.

Darien’s eyes continued to follow him as he walked across the clearing in an outwardly relaxed but carefully calculated manner, observing that he left no opportunity for anything to ambush him unawares. _He’s good. I might actually have to relocate and introduce myself more appropriately after he’s gone,_ Darien thought to himself as Nieve stopped at the edge of the clearing.

“If whatever is hiding in there doesn’t come out in the next five seconds, I can’t be held responsible for what might happen to them,” he commented lightly to the open space, his eyes suddenly showing the steel resolve of someone experienced with being in a fight. As he said this, he casually unsheathed his estoc and held it at a fencer’s position, lightly poised on his feet as if ready to attack empty air if needed.

At this, Darien froze as incredulity involuntarily took over his thoughts. _Could he actually detect me? Damn it! I’ve gotten careless,_ he fumed silently to himself, taking care not to make a single movement for risk of being detected - after all, the slightest deviation from the environment around him would break the illusion of camouflage being provided by his cloak.

Without warning, the boy stepped to the right and thrust violently into the brush just in front of him, and squeals of pain filled the air as an injured hog broke loose from the foliage and ran away screeching. Almost immediately, he dropped his guard and smiled sheepishly. “Looks like it was nothing after all,” he grinned as he sheathed his estoc.

 

Darien suppressed a severe urge to slam his face into a tree. _I can’t believe I got thrown off that hard by his lucky guess. It looks like I lack training,_ he thought as he sighed wordlessly, getting ready to relocate before he sensed another presence in his peripheral vision. _What is this feeling? Dark, bloodthirsty… GRIMM._

Almost immediately, Darien sprang from his hiding place much to the surprise of the boy who was only a couple feet away from him. “Wha- how- what the hell?!” exclaimed Nieve as he reflexively reached for his weapons.

Darien paid him no heed as he quickly activated his weapon’s second form, combining his gauntlets into a metallic longbow that extended out before him. He instinctively reached out behind him and drew a specially enhanced fire dust arrow from his quiver before notching it and releasing into the air. The whole process took about half a second, and the arrow just missed Nieve’s cheek as it flew into the head of the Grimm wolf that was running towards them. As the head of the wolf burst into flames, Darien could hear the call of other wolves that were closing in on their location, most likely drawn by the squealing hog Nieve had stabbed earlier. This translated to a pack of angry, bloodthirsty Grimm that was now running straight towards them. “That was bloody foolish,” he growled to himself as an afterthought, grabbing more arrows from his quiver and stabbing them into the ground for easier access.

His dumbfounded compatriot, meanwhile, had quickly regained his senses and now had his estoc and Glock 39 pistol in hand. Taking up a defensive position behind Darien, he could only grin. “So I’m guessing the dinner and movie comes before introductions?” he said playfully, clearly not taking in the gravity of the situation.

“Very funny,” Darien replied humorlessly, his eyes scanning the forest in front of him to make out any visual confirmation of the impending ursa horde. “To be quite frank with you, I’m not confident we’re going to get out of this unscathed.”

“We’ll be fine,” he replied confidently. “You’ve got some good shooting skills on that bow there.”

“That compliment is useless from you, considering that you probably don’t have the first idea about how a bow works,” Darien said coldly.

He shrugged. “True. But I can acknowledge good aim, can’t I?”

Darien ignored his last comment, now just catching his first sight of their real problem. “For your sake, I hope you’re good with that sword.” _Eight, nine, ten… we’re facing at least twelve wolves. Maybe more. Damnation. Honestly, the best plan would be to run and pick them off from a distance, but sniping would be piss-poor with this many trees blocking my line of sight, and those pistols don’t look like they have a range greater than a hundred feet. Running away completely isn’t an option either, once a Grimm Wolf locks on to your scent they’ll chase you to the ends of the earth… unless you can out-stealth them._

With the bare bones of a plan to save their arses being formed in his mind, Darien realized that the first wave was almost within his definite kill range - with his longbow of a hundred pound draw weight, anything within one hundred and fifty feet might as well be at point blank for him. “Get ready,” he said, teeth gritted in concentration as he notched more arrows onto his bow.

“Just watch me.” With a dazzling smile, the boy leapt into action and engaged the first wolf, where he became completely surrounded almost immediately. Moving between them with movements resembling flowing water, the boy began a complicated dance of footwork and sword mastery as he began his assault on the wolves.

Darien appraised his skill and nodded slightly in approval. _This one will do_ , he thought to himself as he turned to address the remaining wolves. Grabbing arrows from the dirt in front of him, he quickly notched three of them in succession onto his bow before releasing them into the air. Not even waiting to see if he had hit his targets, Darien was notching the next three arrows as the first ones found contact. Two hit two different wolves in the head, while the third pierced its way into a wolf’s chest. But now the remaining pack was too close to engage safely from a distance. “I really wish I could have avoided this,” he said apprehensively as he prepared to transform Wolfsbane into it’s gauntlet state.

As his longbow broke down in a series of clicks, Darien checked to make sure his supply of darts had been replenished. “Looks like everything is good,” he said before breaking out in a run towards the incoming pack. As the first wolves came upon him, he somersaulted into the air and began to use the second component of his Convertible Multi-shot Archer Gauntlets - the wrist-mounted crossbow.

As he twisted his body through the air, Darien began to pump darts into the wolves below. His wrist-bows were capable of firing multiple shots off at once without the need to reload, and he used this feature now as he fired dust-enhanced darts into the mass of black fur below him. Suddenly, it seemed as if nature were at war with itself on a smaller scale, with ice and fire spreading in equal proportions while other wolves were knocked into trees from wind darts. But no matter how many he incapacitated, they just kept coming. Landing lightly on his feet, he fired a grappling hook from his wrist-bow onto a branch and quickly ascended to a safe vantage spot where he could finally direct his attention to the boy. _The situation looks rather grim_ , he thought darkly to himself.

On the forest floor, the boy seemed to be at the ends of his strength. Sweat gleamed on his face as he once again plunged his estoc into the dying wolf to deliver the killing blow before rolling away to dodge another that leapt at his face. The corpses of three or four wolves surrounded him along with twice that amount of living ones, and if left like this he would most likely get killed. “Hey, you!” Darien yelled out. “We’re getting out of here!”

“Uh, kind of hard to do that at the moment!” he yelled back as he lunged at yet another wolf only to have his blow miss. “Got any other plans, boss?!”

“How good are you with flying?”

 

“What did you just- WUMHP!” The boy wheezed as Darien’s wiry frame slammed into his own body.

Darien winced at the contact. _This guy is packing a lot more muscle than I am_ , he thought as he immediately clipped the boy’s belt to his own. “Don’t puke.” he said calmly as he fired another grappling hook into a tree that was farther away. He took one more glance at the slavering wolves around them before they were reeled into the air by the powerful mechanisms in his wrist-bow gauntlet.

Darien continued to flee like this for the next couple minutes, awkwardly trying to keep hold of the taller boy’s frame as they were propelled from tree to tree. “Could your body be any more unwieldy?” he muttered as he latched onto yet another tree branch.

“What was that?” moaned the boy that was in Darien’s unfortunate grip, clearly not  in the best state. In fact, his complexion was quickly approaching a greenish tinge, something that Darien observed with fascination considering he'd never experienced the same. 

“Nothing, just keep your mouth shut and puke away from me if you have to.” _Although I would prefer if you didn’t, considering we’re trying to throw the Grimm off our trail._

When his arms started to feel like leaden blocks, Darien stopped at one of the larger trees in the forest. He unceremoniously dumped the boy onto the branch, making sure to attach both of their belts to the tree via rope to serve as a makeshift safety should they fall. “Stay still and don’t move. With any luck, we’re too high up for them to smell us. We’re upwind of them too.”

“Aye aye, captain,” the boy warbled, still disoriented from his flying adventure.

The two of them remained hunched over, with Darien’s eyes scanning the ground below for any trace of the Grimm. As the minutes passed by, the howling sounds slowly grew softer and softer until they stopped altogether, causing Darien to release a small sigh of relief.

“So… that was interesting,” commented the voice behind him lightly.

Darien turned around to see his new partner already revitalized and swinging his legs in the air as he sat on the branch. “Oh yes, it was very interesting to almost lose our limbs to a pack of Grimm wolves,” Darien said dryly as he rolled his eyes.  

“Oh yeah, I owe you one, partner,” he replied with a wide grin while extending his hand for a handshake. “My name’s Nieve. Nieve Navarro. Nice to meet you.”

“Darien du Corteaux. I suppose you’ll do as far as partners go.” Darien stared distastefully at the offered hand before turning away. “Come on. We have a relic to collect.” Without another word, Darien clipped Nieve’s belt back onto his own before lining up his crossbows with the next tree in the direction of the temple.

 

Nieve shook his head, oblivious to Darien’s preparations. “Yeesh, be a little warmer will you? You city kids really need to learn how to lighten uUUUUUUUUUP?!” he yelled out as he began to fly through the air against his will for the third time in the past hour.

 

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